GOP lawmakers must decide whether to accept raise they rejected

Friday

Feb 3, 2017 at 4:46 PMFeb 3, 2017 at 4:50 PM

By Matt MurphySTATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON: The choice for Republicans seemed to be an easy one. All 41 House and Senate members of the Grand Old Party voted against pay raises for themselves, their governor and other constitutional officers and judges.

But now that the pay raise package has become law, what they should do with the money is not as cut and dried.

Gov. Charlie Baker, who watched Thursday as his veto was easily overridden by Democrats in the Legislature, said he and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito will turn down the pay hikes for themselves, but the top Republicans in the Legislature were not so quick to turn their back on a raise.

"I think I'm probably inclined to. Why not?" House Minority Leader Brad Jones told the News Service after the override vote when asked whether he would take the money.

Jones stands to receive an extra $37,500 in his paycheck this year raising his annual salary to over $122,547, not counting the $15,000 he will receive for "office expenses" in his check.

"It seems to me that you're sending a variety of messages, one is somehow now this is going to be the law so I'm going to go devalue what I do vis-a-vis my counterparts in the rest of the body? Next of all, if you don't like the thing that you passed now I'm going to leave the money under the care, control custody and discretion of the same people who passed this bill in the first place? I don't think it's fair for me to now go to my family and say, 'I'm not worth that,' even though I'm going to work just as hard or harder," Jones said.

Of the $18 million in annual salary increases approved by lawmakers, members of the 200-person Legislature stand to receive $2.8 million. The share for Republicans who voted unanimously against the money comes out to at least $647,300, including $327,500 in increased stipends for leaders in the minority caucus and $319,800 in increased office expenses for all members.

After the override vote, Massachusetts Republican Party Chairwoman Kirsten Hughes accused Democrats of "ignoring public outcry about fiscally irresponsible behavior."

"I voted against it three times," Jones reminded. "I voted to reduce it, and I voted to delay it, but at the end of the day there's a lot of laws that get through here that I vote against. I'm subject to all of those too."

The North Reading Republican is not alone.

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr has also not ruled out taking the same increased stipend that Jones will receive.

"I'm trying to figure out right now what I'm going to do," Tarr said, reiterating the fact that he still thinks the raises are "inappropriate."

Neither Jones nor Tarr have spoken with members of their caucuses about what they plan to do with the money, and both said it wasn't their place to advise other lawmakers what to do. Last week, Sen. Anne Gobi did not have a problem recommending what her colleagues who voted against the raises should do with the money.

Gobi, of Spencer, was one of three Democrats in the Senate and nine in the House to join with Republicans in opposition to the bill and in support of Baker's override. "You can't be hypocritical. If you vote no, you shouldn't take the dough, so I won't take the money," Gobi said.

Rep. Kimberly Ferguson, a Holden Republican, said, "I have not made any decision on that yet."

Rep. Lenny Mirra, of West Newbury, said he had been discussing the issue with colleagues, and there was some concern that the money, if rejected, would not be returned to the state's General Fund, but instead to the House budget account from which legislative salaries are paid.

Essentially, Mirra said if he doesn't take the money it will be returned to House Speaker Robert DeLeo to spend as the Democratic leader sees fit, and not to the General Fund where it could be spent to benefit taxpayers through programming or local aid.

For rank-and-file members like Ferguson and Mirra who have not held leadership positions in their caucus and are unlikely to see an increased stipend added to their paycheck, the raise will come in the form of a $7,800 boost to their office expenses account. Lawmakers living within a 50-mile radius of the State House will receive $15,000 for office expenses in their checks, up for $7,200, while lawmakers who live further away will receive $20,000.

"I think the better thing might be to spend it on a charity in the district," Mirra said.